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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This past weekend, we found ourselves asking with fresh urgency: What can we—as followers of Christ, as a diocese, as a province—do to love our global neighbors who are suffering in the greatest humanitarian crisis of all time?

This is not the place to enumerate and debate all the legitimate issues surrounding the refugee crisis happening around the world. I know that reasonable politicians, police forces and regular people have profound reservations about the effect of immigration on national security; especially the fear that caring for immigrant refugees may inadvertently let terrorists in to our country. People on both sides of the aisle frequently misread Divine intention on a given issue, which is why I try to avoid partisan issues and teach about things that transcend, but include politics—namely Jesus and the in-breaking of the kingdom of God.

In this case, I am compelled to talk to you about love. I wonder: What if love actually makes us safer, closer to the heart of God and centered in the kingdom now at work among us? What if instead of closing our gates and our hearts, we could secure ourselves in that kingdom, such that fear would be engulfed by intuitive generosity flowing from us? We don’t live in a theocracy, and we can’t impose our will on a government (but write them or call them if you feel so moved), but we can do what we can do. For example, the Rev. Jed Roseberry and Restoration Anglican Church in Texas have welcomed and embraced a refugee family from Syria. They are living life with this family, meeting their daily needs.

The widow, the orphan and the stranger all have a special place in the heart of God. We want his heart—and we want their good. We respect public policy—and acknowledge it is a complex task to get it right. But as Christians we don’t have to choose between security and love: we demonstrate love from the secure basis of God’s love for us, his whole creation and his intention to bring it to its telos. If you’re interested in the prescribed treatment of refugees in the Old Testament, check out this blog by our Canon Theologian Scot McKnight.

As we contemplate how God’s love prompts us to action, I entrust to you Micah 6.8: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” As a diocese, we must base our response on justice, kindness and humility before God. To the left are a few tangible things I believe we can do to help.

In all that we do, let us do it in love, grace, and thankfulness – and all for the glory of God.

Peace,